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Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Hey Readers!I'm excited to share a fun new release from author Gina Danna. If you have ever seen the Spartacus on Showtime and loved it (like me), then you need to check out her new book Love & Vengeance. I've got the inside scoop on it below including an excerpt! Feel free to share some love for Gina and her spicy gladitor love story! (A warning for readers: this book contains really HOT love scenes and a lot of gladiator fighting violence. In other words, it's a darn good book!) *EXCERPT BELOW IS PG-13

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Rome 108 A.D., under the Emperor Trajan, is the center of the civilized world. It is a time of sophistication and decadence, a brutal world to their conquered.

Marcus, a Roman citizen sentenced to die as a gladiator, accused by his wife and brother for a crime he did not commit. Yet death eludes him and he rises to become champion of the sands. The title he does not want. He seeks revenge but his victories in the Colosseum bestow monetary rewards he can use to save a beautiful slave, Gustina, from certain death by the beasts. She gives him a taste of love in a world full of lies, betrayal and murder.

But his overwhelming desire for vengeance, for blood and the kill, brings a higher price tag – can he satisfy the demon inside him and face the truth? A truth that will kill the woman he loves?

Excerpt:

Gustina stood in the exhedra, a large room next to the dining area. Her domina lay on the lounge, eating grapes as she and Farina waited for Cernia to acknowledge them. Gustina’s nose crinkled. The woman enjoyed making her slaves stand in anticipation of her demands. All except that bitch, Verenia. The body slave stood to the right of her domina, holding the bowl of fruit. The slave had a smirk on her face and it unnerved Gustina.

What was this conniving little whore up to?

Cernia stood, straightening her stola, the multi-layered dress that hung from her bare shoulders. The yellow and rust colors were brilliant, making their domina’s black hair gleam in the sunset streaming through the doorway.

“Gustina, Farina,” she began, her nose high in the air to show her importance. Gustina wanted to laugh. The woman owned them. No need to show off airs to the slaves….

“I will have you two and Verenia,”she continued, “go and help with the celebrations in the ludus.”

Gustina frowned. She knew the gladiators had returned and many were victorious. But she spent her nights with Marcus. Her insides twisted. Unless something had changed. A sharp glance at the bitch next to her domina and the sneer in her eyes told Gustina everything.

But their domina failed to see Gustina pale as she feared what was ordered.

“We have a couple who have moved up in position and showed their worth,” Cernia stated. “As reward, instead of the usual slop, we are giving you to them for the night. Farina,” she turned to the girl.

Farina tried to keep her face stoic but she shifted on her feet. Inside, Gustina knew the girl hoped she’d get Iduma.

Cernia paced, wringing her hands. Gustina noticed. Strange how this woman, who controlled them, acted as if she was frightened of them. Troubled by this oddity, Gustina had a very bad feeling about this. The metal collar around her neck suddenly felt heavier.

“Farina,” the woman repeated. “You will go to Ahaz and Gustina, you are to go to Iduma.”

Gustina’s heart fell into her stomach as she heard her friend gasp. She reached for Farina’s hand and clutched it tightly, trying to stop her from trying to protest. Cernia continued walking, paying them no attention.

“And Verenia, to our former champion.”

Gustina gulped. Her domina’s tone went cold on those last two words. Just like her heart did as her eyes darted to that bitch and saw the satisfaction in her eyes. She clenched her hands tight, hard enough even the distraught Farina gave a faint squeal.

Cernia turned, her hard steel grey eyes zeroing in on the two slave girls. “Do I hear a problem here?”

“No, domina,” Gustina quickly asserted, schooling her thoughts and her tongue. It did no good to complain. These Romans could easily submit them to the entire group of gladiators and guards for physical pleasure—or worse.

“No, domina,” Farina said, her voice barely above a whisper.

Cernia’s mouth tightened. “Then go, get to their cells. When they’ve had enough wine, see them well satisfied.”

Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Gina Danna has spent the better part of her life reading. History has been her love and she spent numerous hours devouring historical romance stories, dreaming of writing one of her own. Years later, after receiving undergraduate and graduate degrees in History, writing academic research papers and writing for museum programs and events, she finally found the time to write her own stories of historical romantic fiction.

Now, under the supervision of her three dogs and three cats, she writes amid a library of research books, with her only true break away is to spend time with her other life long dream – her Arabian horse – with him, her muse can play.

Want to know about Gina's other books? Check out her publisher website and Gina's website below. (Btw, Gina has a great Regency vampire pirate story. That's right, regency vampire pirate story and it's AWESOME).

Monday, April 21, 2014

Today I have the lovely Marie Higgins on The League of Rogues to talk about her upcoming release and the Amazon Jungle!

Romance in the Jungle

Katrina Landon’s life is about to change.The wealthy father she has never known wants to meet her, but she has to
travel from the slums of Boston through the Amazon rainforest to his
plantation. As if that’s not bad enough, her guide is the handsome,
self-assured, too confident for his own good, Mr. Knightly, who immediately
stirs her temper.

Felix Knightly isn’t looking forward to escorting a spoiled rich girl
through the jungle no matter how much her father pays. Yet when he meets her,
he finds Katrina’s distracting innocence and charming demeanor unsettling. She
makes it nearly impossible to concentrate on his job—a problem he’s never had
around women. He’d rather fight off the fire ants, howler monkeys, and crocodiles
than risk losing his heart to her, since he’s never met an honest wealthy
woman.

As they delve deeper into the shadows of the rainforest, they discover they
weren’t just wrong about each other, they were wrong about the dangers of the
jungle. Someone wants them dead and they have to find out who and why before
it’s too late.

My newest release, “Amazon Sunset” takes place in the Amazon
Rainforest—during the late 1800’s.I
know what you’re thinking.You’re
wondering how a romance could
possibly happen in the middle of a jungle, right?Well, let me assure you, I had wondered the
same thing when I first had an idea to write this story.I wanted to write about something different,
something unique.I have never read a
romance that has taken place in a jungle.All I knew was that there were no paved roads, lots of plants and trees,
many variations of animals / insects and other creatures, and let’s not
forget…lots of rain!So really…how could
my characters fall in love at all?

Not only am I a romance writer, I enjoy writing
suspense.Not only does there have to be
some kind of mystery between the characters, but in the plot itself.I thrive on keeping my readers turning the
pages to find out what really happens throughout my adventure of twists and
turns.While putting together the plot
to “Amazon Sunset” in my head, I realized that the dangers of the jungle were
the very key to bringing my hero and heroine together.

A line in my
blurb states: He’d
rather fight off the fire ants, howler monkeys, and crocodiles than risk losing
his heart to her, since he’s never met an honest wealthy woman. Which is exactly how the hero feels, but
because of everything they share together, it brings them closer together.(I’ll tell you a secret...there are more
dangers than just ants, monkeys, and crocodiles.)

Researching what
I needed for this story was very entertaining, and I realized one thing.I am not the kind of girl who would enjoy
traipsing through the jungle.Not
today…and certainly not in 1890.I’m the
type that doesn’t like to get dirty.It’s a good thing my heroine’s not like this, or she would have never
met the hero—the man of her dreams.

Here is a
snippet of my new release –

“Mr. Knightly?”
she whispered only for his ears. “What is wrong?”

He turned toward
her and grasped her wrist. His hold wasn’t tight, but his actions still worried
her.

“What you see in
those trees are howler monkeys,” he spoke in a low tone.

His voice was
calm, yet his expression didn’t match the tone. “Howler monkeys?” she asked. “That’s
an odd name for them.”

Extremely hairy
and mostly brown in color, they were odd looking primates, but it was their
heads that had her really studying the creatures, because their faces appeared
almost…orange. At first she wondered if they had all been slapped with orange
paint, but then she realized that was what they were supposed to look like.
Their tails were longer than their bodies, and were the very things keeping
them attached to the tree branches, while their hands and feet clutched different
branches—almost forming a spider web. Dozens of them filled one tree alone, yet
all the trees held about the same amount of monkeys.

“I’ve never seen
anything quite like it before,” she continued. “I suppose they are cute in an
odd sort of way—”

“Listen closely,”
he cut her off with a slow but steady voice. “Do not make any sudden movements. You might think they are cute, but
they are easily irritated. Making them upset is not wise, because they have
been known to attack.”

A surprised gasp
stuck in her throat. They would attack?
They looked harmless. But as she watched his crew cautiously prepare for the
battle they thought could possibly happen, she realized she’d better follow
Felix’s warning this time. “Attack?” her voice squeaked out.

“Mostly they will
urinate or fling their um…waste…on us. However, there have been a few times
I’ve witnessed them springing out of the trees and physically beating a person
to death.”

“Oh, dear.”

He loosened his
grip on her arm. “Stay by me and I’ll protect you. We don’t want to do anything
to agitate these wild primates.”

“All right,” she
whispered as fear slowly seeped into her body.

One of Felix’s
crew members slowly approached him and passed him a machete. He gripped the
handle and stepped closer to Katrina. All talking—and even whispering—on the
small vessel stopped as the barge crept underneath the trees. Panic knotted in
her throat as she switched her attention from one monkey to the next, trying to
study their eyes. They all appeared to be watching her and the rest of the crew
with great intent, and she prayed they could pass beneath the trees without any
disturbance. Even the thought of them flinging their…unmentionables…on her or
urinating made her want to gag.

Her heart
hammered, and she tried not to get too frightened. Felix promised he’d protect
her, so she must trust him.

He took careful
steps, shifting even closer to her. “Katrina,” he whispered, “you’re breathing
too loudly. Try to calm down.”

Silently she
groaned. How in heaven’s name could she calm down when everyone around her was
on guard for a battle to the death?

From one of the
trees, a monkey rose higher than the others as if the animal was ready to
pounce. She held her breath. Oh, please
don’t! The grip Felix had on her wrist tightened. He, too, must be
preparing for something to happen.

Without being able
to stop it, a small peep escaped her throat as fear consumed her.

“Shh…” he said
softly.

The barge inched
its way underneath the watchful monkeys. They only needed to pass two more
trees before they were out of harm’s way.

Her body shook,
and for the life of her, she couldn’t control it. Felix released her wrist and
gently slipped his arm around her waist, pulling her against his frame. The
warmth from his body brought a strange sense of comfort to her.

Marie Higgins is a best-selling, multi-published author
of sweet romance; from refined bad-boy heroes who make your heart melt to the
feisty heroines who somehow manage to love them regardless of their faults.
Visit her website / blog to discover more about her – http://mariehiggins84302.blogspot.com

Friday, April 4, 2014

It's been a while since I've posted. I've had a happy and busy year so far (And its only April!) and wanted to stop and give a quick update as to what to expect in the coming couple of years.

If you haven't followed me on facebook, here's some of the highlights of what's to come.

This fall (2014) I'll have two books coming out:

His Wicked Seduction- The second installment in the League of Rogues historical series that I write for Samhain. For those of you familiar with the series and who read the first book Wicked Designs, you'll be happy to know that the second book is Lucien's story!

The other book coming out this fall is a modern gothic book by Entangled Publishing. I can't share too many details yet, but I can say it will be a perfect Halloween read! It will be the first in an awesome series (think Mary Stewart gothics with steamy scenes and ghosts!).

What's coming up for 2015?

*Fingers crossed, I'll have two more modern gothic books from Entangled coming out.

For Christmas 2015, I'm happy to announce my first ever paranormal menage story A Midnight Clear will be coming out from Samhain Publishing. It's a fun story and hot enough to warm up anyone's December. I can't wait to share more details as they become available.

If all goes well, there might be an exciting announcement with regard to my Gilded Cuff (super steamy contemporary romance series).

Be sure to go to www.laurensmithbooks.com and sign up for my newsletter in order to get notifications of releases.